Captain's Table invitations

For those fortunate to have dined with the Captain or ships senior officers in the past. Has this tradition discontinued as there is no formal nights. If the tradition continues has the dress of the guests at the table changed from formal to chic? What are your experiences? Thanks.

Not sure you can speak for all cruise lines as to the ending of formal nights. They still exist on many cruise lines.

Getting invited to the Captain's Table also still exists, but it too varies by cruise line. We have had two dinners and one lunch with the Captain. Dress code was not formal that night, so no issue.

Not sure you can speak for all cruise lines as to the ending of formal nights. They still exist on many cruise lines.

 

Getting invited to the Captain's Table also still exists, but it too varies by cruise line. We have had two dinners and one lunch with the Captain. Dress code was not formal that night, so no issue.

How do people get an invitation?

How do people get an invitation?

Again, varies by cruise line. In our case, we were in the Penthouse. Others were invited due to being long time, loyal cruisers, or friends of important people. Some people get invites for no obvious reasons.

We have stayed many, many times in the Penthouse -- no invites

We have over 1000 days on HAL -- no invites.

HAL caters to those who are mainly Dutch.

So being in the Penthouse and having high number of days does not guarantee that you will be invited.

We were actually invited more times when we sailed on Princess.

been invited many times and never stay in a $$$$$ room

but I cheated

many pas' asked why I had medals and the Capt' did not

We just mistaken for the Captain. Never invited to dinner at his table

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We were invited to dine with the captain the second week of our back-to-back on Windstar. We were also invited to dine with the first officer a few days later. Dinner with the captain was via formal written invite with an RSVP requested. Dinner with the first officer was him walking up behind us as we were on the way to the dining room and asking us to join him. We were in an inexpensive cabin.

Sailed in the RS on the RCCL Mariner, no invite. Sailed in 1BR suites twice on DCL, no invite.

We have enjoyed about four Captains' Table dinners on Crelercrity,,,, o or three on PRINDCESs and a great many on HAl. wE ALWAYS D DRESSEDDC FORMAL. tODAY, i sincerly doubt as a widow, I'd still be invited jjow that I will c ruise. solo. I would ondingued gfo cxfess cofrrmal, were I frto sffill incigfgedd by ghe capgfains with whome we dined a num b er of times.

Princess has an event on each cruise for the most traveled passengers. Usually, it is the 40 most traveled based on days on Princess ships. Usually, the event is a luncheon with the Captain and other senior officers. Other times it is a cocktail party.

We have been lucky to have had lunch several times with the captain.

We've dined with our captain and other officers numerous times on Windstar too. I suppose it's easier to get invited with fewer people per officer. We've also invited several officers to join us, and most of the time it has worked out.

We have enjoyed about four Captains' Table dinners on Crelercrity,,,, o or three on PRINDCESs and a great many on HAl. wE ALWAYS D DRESSEDDC FORMAL. tODAY, i sincerly doubt as a widow, I'd still be invited jjow that I will c ruise. solo. I would ondingued gfo cxfess cofrrmal, were I frto sffill incigfgedd by ghe capgfains with whome we dined a num b er of times.

Looks like you need a new keyboard. :(

We have been invited when on the Mariner of the Seas. Turned it down as we were sailing with our family of 10. This was a long awaited family cruise. Two weeks later we were on the Navigator of the Seas for a transatlantic cruise and won dinner with the captain at the Meet and Mingle during the prize drawing.

Chris

Looks like you need a new keyboard. :(

Sail7Seas does not need a new keyboard and has been providing very useful and informative information on this boards for years. She has a medical issue.

She was one of the 1st posters to respond to a question I posted over 2 years ago. I enjoy her insights and comments to this day.

Sail7Seas does not need a new keyboard and has been providing very useful and informative information on this boards for years. She has a medical issue.

She was one of the 1st posters to respond to a question I posted over 2 years ago. I enjoy her insights and comments to this day.

Thank you for coming to S7S's defense. I've been doing it frequently lately while she has been unable to type to some poster's satisfaction. Glad to see someone else doing it! S7S has quite a background and has lots of VERY useful information and anecdotes to pass on to all of us. It does not take much to understand what she is typing.

How do people get an invitation?

On NCL

Go to your Cruise Critic Meet and Greet.

Ask the Group Coordinator to put you in the "Dinning with an Officer" drawing.

Or

Your can ask @ the front desk to enter.

.

I have dined at the captains table many times, without needing suites. On Celebrity it was because my wife spoke Greek! On Regal, we were friends with the captain. Of course, being an airplane pilot didn't hurt!

However, the best was when I invited Nick Bates, staff captain of QE2 to join me and our friends for dinner. I had met up with him previously for drinks on a prior cruise and, sure enough, he was there!

I never needed a raffle to dine with an officer!

Sail7Seas does not need a new keyboard and has been providing very useful and informative information on this boards for years. She has a medical issue.

She was one of the 1st posters to respond to a question I posted over 2 years ago. I enjoy her insights and comments to this day.

Thank you, free styling.

My injured hand is slowly healing and hopfully, my typingweill soon improve. Thank you or you patiendffe with all my typos. hoperfull y Thery will soon br lessenedgreatly. Anyone who doersn't want to put upwewith it should put mr on their 'ignore.'. list O crouse, could be any of us at any time. :rolleyes.

We had the ship's doctor and his wife join us on a formal night on a Holland America cruise. They explained that HAL encourages available officers to join tables on the formal nights. In our case, we had two vacant spaces at our table.

The cruise line provided wine for the table that night, but our menus were the same as the rest of the dining room. I've read about dining with the captain with a different menu from the rest of the dining room.

Thank you, free styling.

 

My injured hand is slowly healing and hopfully, my typingweill soon improve. Thank you or you patiendffe with all my typos. hoperfull y Thery will soon br lessenedgreatly. Anyone who doersn't want to put upwewith it should put mr on their 'ignore.'. list O crouse, could be any of us at any time. :rolleyes.

Glad you are doing better.

We have stayed many, many times in the Penthouse -- no invites

We have over 1000 days on HAL -- no invites.

HAL caters to those who are mainly Dutch.

So being in the Penthouse and having high number of days does not guarantee that you will be invited.

We were actually invited more times when we sailed on Princess.

We also have sailed a great deal with Holland American Line (HAL,) (not in Penthouses, but rather in inside cabins.). We have attended at least a dozen formal dinners with the ships’ captains and HAL executives. We are not Dutch. Even though the “special” dinners in the Main Dining Room are now called “Gala Evenings” rather than “Formal” and no longer is formal attire the most common. The dinners with the Ships’ captains were held in an alternative dining venue and certainly were formal in every sense of the word. All of the gentlemen were in tuxes. One waitperson for each two guests, with all meals being served simultaneously and a unique menu by a senior chef, for each of the dinners. We have really enjoyed these dinners and the opportunity to speak informally with the senior leadership of HAL and of the ship on which we were sailing.

Scott & Karen

Thank you, free styling.

 

My injured hand is slowly healing and hopfully, my typingweill soon improve. Thank you or you patiendffe with all my typos. hoperfull y Thery will soon br lessenedgreatly. Anyone who doersn't want to put upwewith it should put mr on their 'ignore.'. list O crouse, could be any of us at any time. :rolleyes.

Good to hear you're on the mend, sail!

Glad things are getting better S7S. You are so right that about an injury can happen to anyone at any time!

Sail7Seas -- let me add my good wishes for a speedy recovery to the others that have been expressed here. I noticed your absence from the boards, earlier this year, and was relieved to see that you had returned. As for your typing difficulties, just do what I do: blame 'auto-correct' for everything!;)

And, not to get too far off-topic, you expressed doubt that you would be invited to the Captain's table, as a solo cruiser. I have several female friends who cruise solo on Celebrity, and are regularly invited to dine with the Captain (or other Senior Officers). However, you might be a little disappointed in the experience on Celebrity, lately. They have done away with formal nights, and replaced them with 'Evening Chic'. Around the same time, the Captain/Senior Officers started hosting their guests in the specialty restaurants, rather than the MDR.

Sail7Seas -- let me add my good wishes for a speedy recovery to the others that have been expressed here. I noticed your absence from the boards, earlier this year, and was relieved to see that you had returned. As for your typing difficulties, just do what I do: blame 'auto-correct' for everything!;)

 

And, not to get too far off-topic, you expressed doubt that you would be invited to the Captain's table, as a solo cruiser. I have several female friends who cruise solo on Celebrity, and are regularly invited to dine with the Captain (or other Senior Officers). However, you might be a little disappointed in the experience on Celebrity, lately. They have done away with formal nights, and replaced them with 'Evening Chic'. Around the same time, the Captain/Senior Officers started hosting their guests in the specialty restaurants, rather than the MDR.

Interesting. Perhaps the elimination of formal nights no longer gives the MDR the sense of occasion it previously had on those evenings. Not when "Evening Chic" can mean the "good" pair of jeans and the "nice" baseball hat. :(